Puppet Master
by Asha-Blue18
Summary: I gritted my teeth as I watched their interaction. He, with his half-lidded smile and easy words, was complimenting her, flirting with her a bit, even touching her arm, and she, for all that she tried to look disinterested and mean, was eating it all up. All of it. Falling for his sweet words again, and again, and again – hook, line, and sinker. God I wanted to shake her.


**PUPPET MASTER**

**Yes, yes I know I promised to publish chapter 5 of "Roommates" soon, but that last scene isn't coming to me at the moment.**

**Sooo, as I usually do when my creative juices for a particular chapter run out, I toyed around with this one-shot to pass the time. Actually, ****I have always wanted to write a story about a meaner, more manipulative Arnold. And I always wanted to write more Gerald. So here's more Gerald, Helga, and of course, Arnold.**

**This is just a one-shot for now. Who knows maybe I'll add more chapters in the future, but for now this is it.**

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I gritted my teeth as I watched their interaction. He, with his half-lidded smile and easy words, was complimenting her, flirting with her a bit, even touching her arm, and she, for all that she tried to look disinterested and mean, was eating it all up. All of it. Falling for his sweet words again, and again, and again – hook, line, and sinker.

Because why wouldn't she otherwise?

My man was well-known as one of the most decent boys in school. He was trustworthy, kind, and sweet, everybody knew that, including her. _Especially_ her, if what my ex told me was true. Why would she have any reason to believe the boy in front of her was anything other than the same sweet, naïve boy she met when she was three?

I watched as she blushed despite herself and internally berated myself for keeping quiet, for not walking up to her and shaking her, for not at least_ trying_ to make her see that Arnold was not the same boy anymore. Okay so maybe he was to other people, but not to her. Not anymore. _He's not your Arnold anymore!_ I wanted to scream, _He's really not. You broke him, and now he's just playing the same game you are, except he knows the stakes better than you do. He knows you love him and won't hurt him, knows that you'll take any hit he deigns to throw your way and knows that you'll never retaliate, or at least, never retaliate in any way that actually hurts him in the long run._

He also already told me once that he _**does not**_ love you back, not at all, and like he said, _**never would**_. Because, _why the hell would I choose Helga, of all people, Ger? She's insane. I don't want any part of that. _That part about her being insane just because she loved him made me sad. So she has a crush on him and just happens to be an intense person in general, does that make her love a mockery? Hell, I wish someone loved me _that_ much. I wish Phoebe loved me even a fraction of that much.

I remember being very quiet for a very long time before I replied, _Then why flirt with her? Why give her the hope that she would someday have you? _

My best friend smiled then, a smile I have seen a couple of times on his face before, like he was laughing at some inside joke only he knew. When he noticed me staring though, he cleared his throat immediately, his smile disappearing as well. He never answered. He didn't have to; the answer was already written all over his face.

_Because I can._

And that, in itself, made me truly realize that people do change, even people like my best friend, Arnold P. Shortman.

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XXX

* * *

I sighed to myself as I quietly traversed out of the ballroom to the balcony, nursing a glass of spiked punch in my hands. Junior prom was a bust, I told myself, boring and filled with people I didn't know if I still liked or not. A sniff caught my attention and I swerved around until my eyes caught sight of something big, pink and poofy slouched on the ground. Another blink and I realized said pink and poofy thing was our very own Hell Girl – err – Helga, sitting gracelessly on the ground in her big white and pink concoction. She looked…pretty.

Upon closer inspection, It also registered to me that she was crying.

I sighed again. I knew this would happen.

"Are you alright?"

She looked at me with her big blue eyes, wet and glassy because of all the tears, though she tried to wipe them away and give me mean look. "I'm _fine, _tall-hair boy,"

I took my handkerchief out of my pocket and handed it to her as I slid down to sit beside her. She eyed it suspiciously but took it anyway and tried to dry her tears further. "No you're not," I said quietly.

She barked out a humorless laugh, "No I'm not,"

"Is it Arnold?"

I thought she would disagree. But she nodded, "Figures he would spend most of his night with her," she said quietly.

"He asked you though," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but not as a date, just asked me if I wanted to come," she smiled wryly, "Picked me up, bought me a corsage, then left me in the cold as soon as his real _date_ showed up,"

"You don't deserve that,"

She waved it away, "Of course I do, I've tormented him for years. It's only fitting that he's playing me now,"

I shook my head, wishing I could shake her instead, "No one deserves what he's doing to you," my voice sounded angry, making me wonder if I was, "How many times has he cancelled dates with you? How many times has he played with your feelings? No one deserves to have their love trampled like that, especially by the person that love is supposedly directed at,"

She turned to look at me then, "Aren't you his best friend? You should be defending him,"

"Yeah, well, chalk it up to experience,"

"It's not the same with Pheebs and you know it,"

"She still left, Helga. I loved her, you know, even when she left without so much as a goodbye, only one stinkin' email a year later to tell me that she's found someone else," I rubbed a hand to my face. I can't believe I just told her all that.

Helga snorted, "She wrote to tell me how she didn't want to be friends anymore,"

My eyes widened at her confession. I didn't know _that_. Fuck, now I felt even worse. I had been tolerating what my best friend was doing before because I had also been mad at the Hell Girl – err, Helga, so sure that she knew Phoebe had dumped me and was laughing at my demise behind my back. Turns out I wasn't the only one who lost someone when Phoebe moved away, "Did she say why?"

Helga snorted, "Something about starting out a new chapter of her life afresh," she shrugged, "If you ask me I think she just got tired of me and my antics, yah know, decided life would be so much better without the pink-clad basketcase she had to call a 'best friend'. I don't blame her,"

My heart broke for her at that, "You weren't _that_ bad,"

She barked out another humorless laugh, making me wonder if she had ever laughed for joy, "Oh god, of course I was...am, Geraldo," she shook her head, "If anything, I was worse. It's all I do, yah know, push people away," she leaned more into the wall behind her, a sigh leaving her glossed lips, a tragic figure. I suddenly got this urge to take her in my arms and hug her, just to let her know that she hadn't pushed _everyone_ away yet, that I was still here, and she and I had some kind of relationship…once, right? Of course, me being me, I decided to just do it. I mean, what's the worse she could she do? Punch me?

I wrapped her in my arms, feeling her body stiffen and her hands ball into fists. I gulped as the words, "Okayyy, don't hurt me, yeah? Just wanted to let you know that _I'm still here," _left my mouth. Her head turned to face me, lips parted in shock.

"Geraldo…" she said quietly, "You and I have _never_ been friends, how could you say that garbage?"

I shrugged, because what else what I supposed to do? She was right. We've only ever tolerated each other because I had been dating Phoebe and was best friends with Arnold, we've never been friends because we _liked_ each other. Ever. I don't even think I liked her before today. Actually, I still don't know if I like her. I held her closer, in any case, "Yeah well, broken hearts make for weird friendships, I guess,"

To my surprise she didn't deck me like I thought she would, nor shove me away. Instead, a sad chuckle left her lips as she snuggled closer to my chest, "So you're a-a _friend_, then?" her voice was small. It made me realize that she probably had no other friends anymore. I nodded.

"Yeah, I –

"Helga? _Gerald?"_ our heads whipped around so fast at the sound of his voice. In a split second she had removed herself from my arms, dusting her dress, and I was left wide-eyed and just a little hurt that she had moved away.

"A-Arnold!" she claimed, getting up. I looked at her then, and had to hold back a smile when I saw her hand outstretched to me. She helped me up to my feet and I started dusting my own suit, "W-what are you doing here?"

I caught my best friend's bone-chilling glare and internally winced before realizing that I hadn't really done anything wrong. So mustering all of my boldness, I raised an eyebrow in reply instead. His eyes narrowed before they left me, eyes penitent as he looked at the girl fidgeting next to me, "I was looking for you, Helga. You just disappeared on me," he smiled that half-lidded smile of his and I watched as my new friend blushed from the roots of her hair. Hook. Line. Sinker. God I wanted to shake her.

"You-you were?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Sorry about Lila, she kinda cornered me back there," his smile was sincere but I could feel my teeth gritting. Why was he like this?

Helga simply nodded, rubbing her left forearm with her right hand, "Uh, it's uh-okay,"

"Good, because I was hoping we could have the next dance," he reached for her hand and tangled his fingers with hers, then squeezed in what looked like a comforting gesture, "So how about you go inside to freshen up and I'll come look for you in a bit?" his eyes flashed to me, "I would like a few words with my _best friend,"_

Helga looked my way and our eyes met. Her lips parted, as if to say something, and for a moment it seemed like she was going to say no. But then she sighed and nodded, walking out of the balcony and back into the prom. The moment her form disappeared through the door Arnold's smile disappeared. He looked back at me, his eyes blazing once again, "What do you think you're doing, Gerald?"

I crossed my arms across my chest, "Comforting _your_ date after you left her for Lila,"

He rolled his eyes, looked away, "Like I said, Lila was –

"That's not what I saw, man,"

Arnold trained his eyes back to me, "Whatever you say, Gerald," he put a hand in his pocket, "But really, why does it matter to you? I thought you never liked Helga. Now I find you giving her hugs behind my back?"

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes, "Arnold, you're _not _dating her, so it's really not an issue for you if I give her hugs or even kiss her if I wanted," _Whoa!_ Where did that come from?

My best friend's green eyes flared, "_Kiss_ her?"

And just like that, my bravado was gone as I waved my hands in an x-motion in front of me, "Not like I even wanna kiss her man, but _if_ I did, then it wouldn't be any of your concern,"

Still looking at me with the angriest glare I've ever seen on my best friend's face – let's face it, he barely ever gets mad, much less livid – Arnold crossed his arms across his chest, "Yeah, well, don't think about that anymore," his eyes trained to where Helga had walked out on us, "I think I've made up my mind. I'm going to ask her to be my girlfriend,"

The look on my face must have been one of incredulousness because when Arnold met my eyes, his own narrowed.

"What?"

"What happened to _never loving her back_?" I spat, my voice a little venomous.

My best friend merely shrugged, "Well, maybe I changed my mind,"

God, what has gotten into my best friend? He was toying with someone's feelings, someone's love, "So this has _nothing_ to do with the fact that you caught me hugging her?"

He waved me off, "No Ger, come on, be serious," his look didn't let up, not even a little, "Besides, Helga only has eyes for me anyway, and this would be a great thing for her," he smiled, "Didn't you just tell her you wanted to be friends? Well, as her friend, don't you agree that this would be the best for her?"

I opened my mouth, ready to say "No," but then no words came out.

Because of course he was right.

I sighed, "Do whatever you want, man," I shrugged, "Just remember, that's a person you're toying,"

And without looking back, I crossed over to the door, back to the party, and didn't stop until I was out of the event hall our prom was being hosted in. It was a boring dance anyway.

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**Soooo..do you like it? do you like it?**

**Tell meeeeee!**

**And stay tuned for chapter 5 of Roommates.**

**\- ASHA**


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